Adjustment means for spring tension clips of jewelry



1956 H. E. SCHARFF ET AL 9 9 ADJUSTMENT MEANS FOR SPRING TENSION CLIPS OF JEWELRY Filed OCT 27, 1.952

INVENTORS HERBERT E.SC-HARFF& MARG G. WALSOHAERT ATTORNEY United States Patent ADJUSTMENT MEANS FOR SPRING TENSION CLIPS OF JEWELRY Herbert E. Scharlf and Marc C. Walschaert, Davenport, Iowa Application October 27, 1952, Serial No. 317,113

6 Claims. (Cl. 24252) The present invention relates to articles of jewelry and particularly to such as have spring clips for securing same in place. It is known that earrings and various other articles of jewelry have spring clips for retaining the same in place. It is also known that spring clips of such articles may become loose or worn, and it is the purpose of this invention to provide means for preventing such jewelry from becoming loose and falling off.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an earring with the securing means pushed to one end of its course of adjustment;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 2-2, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the back of the earring shown in Fig. 2, taken in the direction of the arrows 3-3, in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1 with the spring clip turned up into non-holding position; and

Fig. 5 shows the spring clip with the adjustment means pushed up into holding position.

This invention has been illustrated as being applied to an earring. The body of this piece of jewelry is shown at 1. As is customary, a post 2 extends away from the body 1 and has ears 3 which extend outwardly from the post 2, being provided with pivot openings 4 in which a trifurcated lever 6 is pivoted by means of pivots 5 which project from outer arms 11 into the openings 4. This lever 6 is provided with a central arm or spring tongue 7 which cooperates with a projection 8 or fulcrum, shown most clearly in Fig. 5.

When this lever 6 is turned up about its pivots 5, the resiliency of the tongue 7 tends to turn the clip down into holding position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. When the adjustment means or slide 9 is pushed toward the pivots 5, the length of the spring tongue 7, which can yield, is shortened, and its yielding is not so easy as when it is longer, which makes the lever hold more firmly. The arms 10 of the adjustment means are passed through slots between the tongue 7 and the arms 11 of the lever 6. Then the ends 12 of the arms 10 are bent laterally under the arms 11, which makes it more difficult for the spring tongue 7 to yield and, hence, makes the lever 6 hold more securely. Also, instead of the lever yielding and permitting the earring to drop, the eifect of the adjustment means is to hold the earring in place.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. In a spring clip for an article of jewelry, as an earring, a first post projecting from the back of said article of jewelry, said post having pivot openings therein, and a spring arm pivoted in said openings, that which is claimed as new comprising a spring tongue separated for a part of its strength along its sides from the spring arm, a second post forming a part of the first post and extending beyond the longitudinal central plane of the body of the spring arm, the spring tongue resting on the top of the second post, and adjustment means riding on "ice said spring tongue with its ends extending down through the spring arm, bent laterally under the side portions thereof, the adjustment means being movable along the spring arm to make the latter grip more tightly.

2. In an article of jewelry having a first post thereon and a spring arm pivoted to the post, a second post form: ing a part of the first post and extending beyond the end thereof, the first post having pivot openings therein, the spring arm having arms extending laterally into the openings, the arms of the spring arm being, in part, separated from the body thereof, leaving a tongue projecting between the pair of arms formed by separating the sides of the spring arm from the body thereof, and adjustment means riding on the spring tongue with its ends projecting through the slots between the arms and the body and bent laterally below the arms whereby the adjustment means may be pushed toward the end of the spring tongue and thereby increase the tension on the spring arm.

3. A clip for an article of jewelry, comprising a body having a post projecting rearwardly from the body, said post being partly divided into sides and a tongue located between the sides, the tongue extending slightly beyond the sides, the sides being provided with pivot holes, a spring arm having a pair of arms provided with pivots, said pivots extending into the pivot holes and the spring arm being pivoted in the pivot holes, the spring arm having a finger between the arms extending beyond the ends of the arms and overlapping the tongue of the post, and a slider on the spring arm bearing on the finger, the ends of the slider extending through the spring arm and bent laterally between the arms of the spring arm, the spring clip being without a holding button and relying solely on the pressure of the spring arm toward the body.

4. In a spring clip for an article of jewelry, as an earring, a first post having a body with two wings projecting at a substantial angle therefrom, the two wings projecting parallel to each other, a second post upstanding from the body between the wings, a lever divided at one end into three parallel arms, the remainder of the lever being unitary, the wings having holes therein, the arms of the lever having laterally extending projections which fit into the holes in the wings, the two outer arms of the lever being in the same plane, the central arm being bent slightly upwardly above the plane of the other two arms, this central arm of the lever resting upon the end of the second post and thereby exerting pressure to hold the clip against the main body of the article of jewelry, and a slider 0n the lever to increase or decrease the tension on the spring of the lever.

5. In an earring or the like having a body affording an ear-contacting surface from which a post projects outwardly to an end portion having a pivot parallel to the surface and a fulcrum outwardly of the pivot, the improvement comprising a trifurcated lever having a postproximate end and a free end remote from the pivot and fulcrum and cooperative with the body surface in engaging and releasing an ear lobe, said trifurcated lever including a central arm and a pair of outer arms united at the free end of the lever and extending toward the post with the outer arms spatially flanking the central arm so as to afford slots lengthwise of the lever respectively at opposite sides of the central arm, said outer arms being coplanar and at the post-proximate end of the lever being swingably carried on the post via the aforesaid pivot and the central arm being displaced outwardly from the plane of the outer arms so as to rest on the fulcrum, and said central arm being of spring-like material operative to bias the free end of the lever toward. the body surface; and a U-shaped slider mounted on the lever astride and having its legs passing freely inwardly respectively through the aforesaid slots, each leg having a bent end portion hook- 3 ing under and slidablyengaging the under sur'faceof the proximate outer arm so that said slider is adjustable lengthwise of the lever and toward and away from the post to vary the amount of displacement of the central arm relative to the outer arms and thereby to vary the spring loading on the free end of the lever.

'6. The invention defined in claim 5, including: a lug carried by and projecting from the slider in a direction laterally away from the lever to facilitate manual movement of the slider.

ReferencesCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Shelby Apr. 27, 1886 Williamson Feb. 5, 1907 Chernow Feb. 4, 1941 Mark Dec. 25, 1945 Oldak Apr. 4, 1950 Pujol June 19, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS France Mar. 12, 1952 

